Day 30 – to Cazorla

The Cazorla Natural Park lies at the eastern edge of the province of Jaen, and is Spain’s largest protected area. There are vast pine forests, broad river valleys, spectacular waterfalls, deep canyons and jagged peaks rising to over 2000 metres.

This is classic walking country. It was once a popular place to hunt, but in the 1950s when native species had practical been shot off the hills it was declared a National Hunting Reserve, deer and boar were reintroduced and hunting controlled. The populations rose ten times in as many years.

There are several footpaths that show the Park at it’s finest, but perhaps none better than the high ridge above Cazorla town that at its southern end has the peak of Galillo, at 1848 metres.

This was a cool morning after yesterday’s rain, the cloud giving way to clear skies midway through the day – and providing incredible views from the ridge, and from the peak, even views of the distant Sierra Nevada, where I will be in a few days.

At the high pass I met a group of Belgian mountain bikers, a club of 25 on their annual trip. I saw them on and off all the way for the 8 kilometres back to the van, by which they were so impressed they wanted photos, even with the dog in the frame.

After a very late lunch I headed down to Cazorla town. There’s a campervan parking area just above the town at its north side.

I had been here 29 years ago, but the place I saw just couldn’t equate to the memories I had of it. Perhaps if someone who was on that trip was with me something may have clicked, but alone I was lost. It was summer 1992 and we were headed in my Land Rover to the Sahara to satisfy my mate’s yearning to hit a few golf balls into the vast of the dunes. We stayed with a friend of a friend, an elderly American had a fabulous place out of town. A heavy smoker all his life, his health was failing badly and we hardly saw him in the days we were there.

This time I wandered into some of the Plazas of the town and had a beer in each, contemplated eating out but returned to the van with some fresh bread.